A resolution passed by university chiefs last month that would allow public and private institutions of higher learning to raise tuition rates by as much as 10 percent has touched off fierce debate.
Three associations representing Taiwan's universities passed the tuition hike resolution in December. A forum of university presidents then signed off on the resolution on Jan. 11, and the proposal is being reviewed by the Ministry of Education for final approval.
"We live in an age of shrinking government subsidies for universities," Soochow University president Liu Chao-hsuan (劉兆玄) said at a seminar hosted by National Chengchi University on Tuesday to debate the proposed hike.
"But the responsibility for ensuring the quality of higher education rests with us, and in the absence of government funds, raising tuition is our last option," Liu said.
However opposition groups criticized university presidents for taking the matter lightly and for reportedly spending only 10 minutes to discuss the resolution before passing it.
"National Taiwan University president Lee Si-chen (李嗣涔) ignored the strong objections of the Coalition Against High Tuition and other associations, saying that the resolution had passed so quickly because of our joining the forum and discussing the issue [with university presidents]," coalition spokeswoman Chien Shu-hui (簡淑慧) said at the seminar.
"That was a blatant lie," she added.
A longtime proponent of tuition hikes, Lee said only universities that met strict fiscal criteria would be able to decide how much to raise their tuition fees.
He also suggested that "amid the tuition hikes, the education ministry could request that universities increase the amount of scholarships for disadvantaged students accordingly."
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